Second Person Shooter
by Scully22
Summary: Based on the episode First Person Shooter... Mulder and Scully must continue in the virtual game until they have beaten it together. The lone gunmen, Ivan and Phoebe are all there trying to help.
1. Level Two

"Second Person Shooter" by Jenforvel 

----

Scully stood in the portal with her gun cocked and her eyes on the prize. The chamber door slowly began to rise and she stepped out onto the virtual dirt with a gleam in her eyes. Mulder was ducked behind the small mound, and she kneeled beside him with a smile to see him around.

"We're stuck in the game, until they can turn it off…" Scully looked above to make sure no one was present, "or until we can beat the game."

Mulder shook his head, "we can't beat it. We're only on level two and it's incredibly difficult as it is."

Scully shrugged, "we have to try."

------

"What's the next problem?" Frohike asked, in the small room with the others.

"After they beat her in the street they have to find the key in the sheriff's lock up. Once they have the key, they continue to the next level," Phoebe told them watching the monitors closely.

"That doesn't sound too hard," Byers shrugged. Everyone turned to him with a frown, he just looked away.

------

"How do we beat the level? I don't have any ammo left," Mulder asked Scully in between her rounds at the multiplying Maitreya.

Scully sighed, "I haven't played many video games, but I did grow up with two brothers… isn't their usually ways to 'pick up' ammo or guns?"

Mulder nodded, "we need to get into those buildings."

"Let me finish her off for now, you go left, I'll cover you." Scully stood again, she blasted the last Maitreya that sat on the tank. It was silent. Scully looked down at Mulder with a nod and both darted to the first building. Mulder jumped over the two stairs and jiggled the door knob. Scully kept her back to him and her eyes open on the scene around them.

Finally Mulder knocked the door in. They both ran in. Mulder found a gun hidden under a table, "I got something."

"What do we need to do to beat this?" Scully asked.

"I don't know. I say we check out the other buildings. Maybe we can find a cheaters link."

"What's that?" Scully asked watching out the doorway for any intruders.

"In every game there is a cheat link. A certain area you can go to that will allow you to move onto the next level."

"Every game has one?" Scully questioned.

"Yeah. Mostly."

------

"He's right," Ivan nodded, "the cheat link is very hard to find though."

"We need to contact them, is there any way?" Langly asked.

Phoebe sighed, "I've been trying to tap into the intercom, but Maitreya has the game well under her control…"

"That may be the only way they can win! We need contact with them," Langly stressed.

"…I'll keep trying."

------

Mulder proceeded into the building that had the Sheriffs sign on top. Scully stood outside firm and prepared to take action. Mulder looked around, he didn't see much. He began to head out when he heard shots. Scully ran in and slammed the door behind her, "We've got company."

"How many this time?" Mulder asked.

"One. But she looks pretty powerful."

Two large thumps hit the door and then it was silent. Mulder and Scully stood ready to shoot. Suddenly the door was ripped off its hinges and thrown down the street. Maitreya stood in the door way with her skimpy outfit and more importantly her enormous firearm.

"She feeds off male aggression. Stay calm," Scully whispered to Mulder. Maitreya made a quick move and fired at Scully. She flew back and hit the jail bars- her gun was too far to reach. Mulder wanted to lure Maitreya out of the Sheriffs room so Scully could use the health points in the corner of the jail cell.

Mulder had succeeded in rotating around the room, he stood beside the Sheriffs desk when Maitreya fired again. He fell backwards over the chair, pulling the desk down with him. As she made her way closer he spotted the key that had fallen from the drawer. Maitreya had him at gunpoint- he had one chance to save Scully. He picked up the key and tossed it.

In mid-air the virtual room melted away and both Mulder and Scully were armed and standing again. Scully turned to him surprised, "cheat link?"

"Let's find it again," he nodded when they heard gun shots again. Both of them ducked behind the same mound. Ahead of them was a forest. Dark and green, moist and silent.

------

"What's in this level?" Byers asked.

"Hunters," Ivan explained, "will try to capture them. There are booby traps all over the forest, if they are caught and a hunter finds them- game over."

"What's the objective?" Frohike asked in gaze at Scully through the monitor.

"There are three cougars trapped in three cages. Let them go, you move on to the next level."

"What about the cheat link?" Byers wondered.

"There is none."

------

"How do we know what we are supposed to do?" Scully asked Mulder as they walked through the forest with both eyes and ears pealed.

"I don't know how this game works. There is usually something you can press that will tell you."

"Cover me," she told him as she began to press buttons on her belt.

"What are you doing?"

"One of these must do something…"

Suddenly the forest around them went dark.

"Mulder…" Scully called out quietly.

"I'm right here…" He reached out his hand until their fingers touched. He wrapped his hand around hers firmly.

"What happened?" she asked calmly.

A bright light flashed on and beamed down at them. Scully covered her eyes but tried to look up to see what was above. Mulder kept his eyes on what was around them. He saw a figure move a few feet away. He let go of her and held up his weapon, she did the same.

A young boy stepped just into the light. Both Mulder and Scully kept their guns aimed and ready to shoot.

"My name is Teliken. My village was destroyed by the hunters. They have pillaged our land and seized our defenses. You must search the forest until you find the three cougars trapped in three cages. Once all three have been set free, the hunters will withdraw and you may continue your journey. Beware of the traps set for you, once a hunter finds you in his cage, he will kill you."

The boy turned around and walked back into the darkness. Scully looked up at Mulder best she could without straining from the bright light.

"I wish I knew what button it was I pressed," she smiled, remembering this was all virtual.

Mulder smiled back as he slid his arm around her waist protectively.

------

"Will they make it?" Langly asked.

"I don't know," Ivan replied.

Byers cut in, "What if one of us went in, they could use more help!"

"No! It's too dangerous. The more people sent in, the harder it gets. There is no leeway," Phoebe shook her head, "it's up to them to get out."

TBC


	2. Level Three

"Second Person Shooter" by Jenforvel 

(Part 1 revised)

------

Part 2

"Do we at least get a compass?" Scully asked aloud just as one fell from the sky right at her feet. She picked it up curiously, "ok."

Mulder smiled, then slowly his expression changed to a frown, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Scully shrugged taking a closer look at the compass. Mulder was silent, then shook off the notion, "nothing."

The two continued to walk when Scully suddenly stopped again.

"What is it?" Mulder put his hand on her shoulder.

"I was thinking," Scully turned to him with the compass in her hand still, "this virtual reality- virtual as in cyberspace, a 3-D simulation, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then how is it I am holding this compass? We came in with the guns, but this compass wasn't real. It was virtual. How did I pick it up?"

"You can pick things up in virtual reality simulations, you just aren't really holding anything- it just looks like you are. It's a mind game really."

"What if it isn't?" Scully frowned, "what if this is real?"

"It's not."

"When have you ever been so easy to assume fact is fact? Something has happened, and I don't think we're just in the game any more… I'd go as far to say that if the lone gunmen were to check that room, we wouldn't be in it any more."

-----

Byers crashed into Frohike who crashed into Langly who had crashed into Ivan. All four men stood in the center of the room frozen. It was just as Scully had hypothesized. They were gone.

"What does this mean?" Byers asked.

Ivan shook his head, "it means I'm in a lot of shit."

"Hey man, what about our friends? Where are they?" Langly grabbed Ivan's shirt roughly.

"I don't know!" Ivan shook his head frantically. Byers and Frohike pulled Langly off Ivan reluctantly.

"What are we going to do?" Byers asked.

-----

"Did you hear that?" Mulder turned to Scully quickly.

Scully nodded, "we'll worry about the compass later. I think we should keep moving."

The two continued to walk through the forest, quietly and fearfully, but they continued. Scully seemed to be on her game and she lead Mulder confidently through the rough forest terrain.

"It's about time," Maitreya stood on a high mound in front of Scully and Mulder in a clearing. Both agents held their guns high, ready to shoot at any second.

"Don't worry," Maitreya smiled, "I'm not the one you need to defeat in this level."

"Who is?" Scully called out aggressively.

"Not everything you've seen is entirely true. Keep in mind the games the forest can play on you!" Maitreya's appearance quickly began to form and now a blood thirsty cougar stood in their path.

"Let's get out of here," Mulder whispered and both began to sprint back the way they came. Mulder's legs were much longer and his strides thereby reached much further. Scully struggled to keep up, but she did.

Mulder could see another clearing up ahead, and what looked like a river. He stopped at the bank until Scully came zooming out of the forest line.

"Come on!" Mulder threw down his gun and grabbed her hand. The two agents jumped into the fast current, leaving the hungry cougar far behind.

Every thing seemed to be ok until the river looked as though it simply cut off. Mulder realized quickly that it wasn't the limit of the game, it was a waterfall.

"I think I've seen this movie before," Scully looked at him one last time before they were plummeting to the bottom.

------

Phoebe gasped, "oh god… guys!"

Ivan and the lone gunmen came running back in, "what's wrong?"

"Mulder and Scully. They jumped."

"From what?" Langly asked anxiously.

"that," Phoebe pointed at the extended view of the giant waterfall.

Byers was wide eyed, "oh god."

-----

Mulder was first to burst out from underneath the water. He gasped for air only a second before frantically looking for Scully. He didn't see her on the surface, so he dived back under water to search for her there.

He could see what looked like a figure a few feet away, and luckily in the opposite direction from the force under the fall itself. He swam towards whatever it was he saw, until he was close enough to tell it was her. She was floating in between the surface and the floor, so it was easy for him to scoop her in his arms and take her to the top.

He pulled her out of the water and onto the bank where he pumped her stomach until she finally sat up in water-filled coughs. He held her up until all the water seemed to be drained from her lungs. She sat there in the mud, out of breath but with a small smile starting to form.

She rested her head against his chest trying to catch her breath, until at last she was all caught up. She was calmed by his arm that was around her protectively, and his hand that rubbed her arm gently and lovingly. She nudged her nose against his neck like a cat would in need of attention and comfort, and he smiled. She pulled away slightly, cupping her palm around his neck, and her fingers around his ear.

He leaned toward her slightly then stopped, he wanted to but he couldn't. She couldn't help it, on the other hand. Her lips separated slightly and she closed her eyes. Her lips and his hovered by each other for a moment, it was too late to stop but there was still a fear of regret.

-------

"Go Mulder!" Langly smiled for once in a long while.

"It's not fair," Frohike chimed in.

Byers smiled, "not fair? They've been waiting so long!...I wonder if they know were watching…"

Langly turned to Phoebe who was working hard and not indulging in the romantic scene on the monitor, "how's the intercom coming?"

Everyone turned to Phoebe, "still working on it, guys."

-------

There was a loud bang in the air, it echoed- it sounded almost like a gun shot. Mulder and Scully both stood immediately.

"Where'd it come from?" She asked quietly.

"I can't tell."

"Mulder look," Scully hung her gun over her shoulder and stared at the receding water. The water fall disappeared within a minute, and a cave could now be seen.

"A trap?" Scully wondered aloud.

"I don't know. We need to find those cougars though, they may be in there."

She nodded, "into the cave we go."

------

TBC 


	3. Level Four

**"Second Person Shooter" by Jenforvel**

**Part 2 revised**

**------- **

**Part 3**

Scully held her hand down to help hoist Mulder up into the cave. The rocks were slippery but walkable. Scully kept her gun hung over her shoulder, whereas Mulder, who had found another on his way, had his out.

"The cave doesn't get dark, and it doesn't look that deep," Scully whispered, afraid of an echo.

Mulder nodded, "keep your eyes open."

They walked in unison for awhile, the cave, though light, didn't seem to end. The closer they walked, they made no progress.

Scully sat down against the rock wall after an hour's walk with still no progress, "maybe we are in the game. Maybe this is as far as it goes on this end."

"No," Mulder shook his head, "I think you were right before. I think this is real."

"…why do you always do that?"

"What?" Mulder turned to her.

"Nothing."

Mulder shook his head, "no. What did you say?"

"Nothing. I just want to beat this and go home."

"You don't think I want that as well?" Mulder questioned with a deep frown.

"Well… what else do you have to do? Research?"

"You're saying I don't get out."

Scully smiled, "well, do you?"

"Do you?" He asked defensively.

"We're not talking about me," Scully leaned back pompously. Mulder took three proud steps to her position against the wall and then pulled her into a kiss. Scully folded her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, to the wall, to the rock. He delicately touched his fingers against her neck, and the other he used for support in the awkward angle. Scully kept her arms around him tightly- she wouldn't let him go.

She pulled away from his lips and bowed her head with an out of breath smile. He lifted his head up for air then kissed her forehead a few times gently. She slid her hands over his cheeks again and genuinely smiled as he kissed her lips tenderly.

"Well, well, well," Maitreya appeared behind them, "what do we have here?"

Scully slid of the wall and Mulder did something he'd never done before, he held his arm out in front of her. She frowned at him as Maitreya continued,

"You see, Red. He destroyed you," she spoke directly to Scully who now stood away from Mulder.

"The two of you kissed, and suddenly you're not strong enough to take care of yourself… He did it on purpose. He did it for personal gain… and you fell for it," Maitreya watched Scully carefully as she took another few steps away from Mulder.

"Scully, it was a reaction. I've done that before," Mulder tried to reason but Scully shook her head.

"I need a minute."

"There's no time," Mulder interrupted, "we have to get out of here as quick as possible. It's not safe."

Scully nodded, she had to trust Mulder over Maitreya, "your right."

Scully pulled her gun on Maitreya.

"You wouldn't dare."

Scully nodded, "Yes I would." And with that she shot.

------

"Damn it!" Phoebe slammed the keyboard on the table.

"Hey, take it easy," Langly intervened, "you've been working on this for a long time, let me try."

Ivan broke in, "You don't know how to work this system!"

"Hey!" Langly stood tall and proud in front of Ivan, "she needs some rest… I may be lanky, but I know karate."

Ivan rolled his eyes, but Phoebe kissed Langly softly on the cheek, "thank you."

Langly was about to sit at the computer after Phoebe left, when Ivan slid his rolling chair in front of him, "I'll work on it. I know the system."

The boys sat around for a couple hours, both Byers and Frohike had long fallen asleep, and Langly had been captivated by solitaire on the regular computer. Ivan disturbed everyone on a loud note.

"What is it?!" Byers sprung up with Frohike and Langly.

"I moved them to the next level!"

"What about contact? If we can tell them what's going to happen, they can beat it quicker and safer," Langly pleaded.

"If I can keep moving them up levels- we won't have to worry about contact. They seem more then capable of maintaining resilience... See, Maitreya has set up a number of blocks so I can't break in- but the blocks are created with my- my and Phoebe's software. I'll need an hour tops to break in to each level."

"Make it happen," Langly said in all seriousness.

---------

"Mulder?" Scully called out in the dark room.

"Scully?" Mulder called out in the dark room.

"Mulder?

"Scully?"

They both kept calling each other's names until they reached each others bodies. Mulder wrapped his arms around her and she responded with a light kiss to his neck.

"Where are we?" She asked quietly.

"Why don't you press that button on your belt again?" Mulder suggested. She searched for the right one, and when she guessed she had found it, a bright beam of light shone down on them again.

Both of them waited to see what would come out of the darkness around them. Scully was a little startled to see a white spirit float into part of the light.

It began to speak with a gloomy voice, "You have entered the home of the past, a place where the dead are alive at last. Do not fear the white spirits that float, fear the green things that will aim at your feet and throat."

"How do we win this level?" Scully asked the projection.

"The only way to be gone, is to find the red stone. One wish for a pleasure, one wish to move on."

The white spirit began to disappear in the air and the high beam suddenly went out. Scully and Mulder were again in the dark again until slowly a ghastly yellow glow began to fill the room.

"Just the color I wanted in my kitchen," She smiled up at him and he smiled back with a little laugh.

Mulder cocked his large gun loudly, "We've got some green butt to kick."

-----

TBC


End file.
